Talkin bout 2 outta 3 things....
It was a FULL weekend. Lots of driving, lots of swimming, and even missing some things. In this post I will talk about 1 swim and 1 missed event and leave the other swim for its own post....because it WAS that epic.
Bring On The Bay.
If you have done any Open Water in Ontario you have heard of it. It is the largest OWS in Ontario now boasting 600 ish swimmers in its 11th year. It is also one of the originals in the COWSS which then became the GSS which I am competing in.
Last weekend I drove to Kingston after work on the Friday and was met with miserable traffic. Knowing this I left 2 hours early this weekend with hopes of avoiding the traffic and making it to Ottawa in good time. Not only did I not avoid traffic - it was worse. It took me six hours to make the journey with a lot of stop and go. But I made it.
My dear friend and nemesis Jacey (and Nathalie) were kind enough to take me in for the night. They were great hosts and are genuinely wonderful people. A huge thanks to them! Having a great place to sleep made for an easy go the next day. Well - easier.
The swim goes from the Nepean Sailing Club to the Britannia Yacht Club, basically in a giant L shape. It may look like there is lots of room here but when you are talking about 600 swimmers there really isn't. You have to be smart about how you pull this off or frankly people die.
Fortunately this is not the first time at the rodeo.
When you register for this swim you have to put in a time. This way you are separated into heats. There really is no point in fudging it as it helps you not at all. I put in a time that was almost exactly what my finish actually was - #NailedIt .
Now - this is only my opinion - I would not bring someone to this swim for a "1st ever" open water swim. It can be intimidating on shore and more so in the water.
You have to swim through or alongside this mess of people. I never really got free of a crowd and in fact took a shot in the nose from an older gentleman who was swimming like he was trying to return to a pub crawl. The water was a fine temperature but it was dark. Thankfully if you are not the leader of the pack there is not a lot of sighting necessary. You just swim in the school. One of the cool things about this swim is there is a boat with a distance board every 100m so you know exactly where you're at. Unless you are me and somehow saw 1000m 2x. Having said all that - at one point there was a mother and son swimming beside me. The son was approximately 12 years old judging by his size and his mother who was right beside him (I imagine for both his peace of mind and hers) was keeping pace with me doing breastroke. BREASTROKE! Good for them.
This was the homestretch...
Then the climb up the ladder...
Then you walk the plank....
And claim your booty.
After the swim there is food and awards and a crowd of people consisting of swimmers, spectators, kayakers, boaters, volunteers, etc. It's a busy place. Sadly I was not able to stick around. I had a 5 hour drive ahead and another event the next day to prepare for.
Once again - thank you to Jacey and Nathalie and also a huge thanks to all those involved with putting this swim on. It's big and it takes a lot.
Sunday's event that I DID go to was the North Shore Challenge. But you will have to wait for that post. :)
There was another event that took place Sunday which was important that I DID NOT go to. It was a case of unfortunate scheduling.
The 2nd Annual Naomi Cermak Tri to Inspire @ Brock University
I never met Naomi (I don't think) but my sister knew her.
Tragically the Cermak family lost their beloved Naomi in 2013 to Melanoma. Do a Google search on her as there is no shortage of wonderful articles written about this young woman taken too soon. Brock University decided to create the Naomi Cermak Scholarship and also the Tri To Inspire Triathlon to fund it. From what I have read it is well named.
Naomi's sister Carly is a cherished friend of mine and the rest of my swim team (Cambridge Mavericks).
Under normal circumstances some of the Mavericks would have been at this event and indeed it broke our hearts when we found out about the scheduling conflict. I for one was eyeballs deep with the North Shore Challenge event. I had already roped in many of the gang. Sometimes the cards fall the wrong way.
Thankfully many did attend. Carly has such a magnetic personality that she makes friends instantly everywhere she goes and draws people to her. Even on a weekend that was a full schedule with many different events (smack dab middle of July) the Triathlon still had a good turnout. I believe there was a dip from last year but experience tells me that this is not uncommon in year 2 of a new event and it generally builds from there.
It is my hope that next year I am able to support this event. I will oompa loompa my way through and likely finish poorly.... but I will do it for a friend and her family. And I won't be doing it alone.
Friends - keep yours eyes open for this event in 2018. This is not an Ironman or anything like that. It is a small potatoes triathlon for a major purpose. Look for this triathlon, commit to yourself that you will attend, even if you finish 2nd last just ahead of me. If you need more motivation - read up on the warrior that Naomi Cermak was - https://goo.gl/yzE1zd . You can also donate to the scholarship here : https://goo.gl/76LAzb
Until I touch the wall.....
Michael Kenny
Masters Swimmer
Cambridge Mavericks
Marathon Open Water Swimmer
2015-16 Global Swim Series Champion
Contact Info :
F : https://www.facebook.com/swim.diesel
I : https://www.instagram.com/swim.diesel
T : https://twitter.com/SwimDiesel
E : m.j.kenny@swim-diesel.com
+ : google.com/+Swim-diesel
B : 53724F20
Bring On The Bay.
If you have done any Open Water in Ontario you have heard of it. It is the largest OWS in Ontario now boasting 600 ish swimmers in its 11th year. It is also one of the originals in the COWSS which then became the GSS which I am competing in.
Last weekend I drove to Kingston after work on the Friday and was met with miserable traffic. Knowing this I left 2 hours early this weekend with hopes of avoiding the traffic and making it to Ottawa in good time. Not only did I not avoid traffic - it was worse. It took me six hours to make the journey with a lot of stop and go. But I made it.
My dear friend and nemesis Jacey (and Nathalie) were kind enough to take me in for the night. They were great hosts and are genuinely wonderful people. A huge thanks to them! Having a great place to sleep made for an easy go the next day. Well - easier.
The swim goes from the Nepean Sailing Club to the Britannia Yacht Club, basically in a giant L shape. It may look like there is lots of room here but when you are talking about 600 swimmers there really isn't. You have to be smart about how you pull this off or frankly people die.
Fortunately this is not the first time at the rodeo.
When you register for this swim you have to put in a time. This way you are separated into heats. There really is no point in fudging it as it helps you not at all. I put in a time that was almost exactly what my finish actually was - #NailedIt .
Now - this is only my opinion - I would not bring someone to this swim for a "1st ever" open water swim. It can be intimidating on shore and more so in the water.
You have to swim through or alongside this mess of people. I never really got free of a crowd and in fact took a shot in the nose from an older gentleman who was swimming like he was trying to return to a pub crawl. The water was a fine temperature but it was dark. Thankfully if you are not the leader of the pack there is not a lot of sighting necessary. You just swim in the school. One of the cool things about this swim is there is a boat with a distance board every 100m so you know exactly where you're at. Unless you are me and somehow saw 1000m 2x. Having said all that - at one point there was a mother and son swimming beside me. The son was approximately 12 years old judging by his size and his mother who was right beside him (I imagine for both his peace of mind and hers) was keeping pace with me doing breastroke. BREASTROKE! Good for them.
This was the homestretch...
Then the climb up the ladder...
Then you walk the plank....
And claim your booty.
After the swim there is food and awards and a crowd of people consisting of swimmers, spectators, kayakers, boaters, volunteers, etc. It's a busy place. Sadly I was not able to stick around. I had a 5 hour drive ahead and another event the next day to prepare for.
Once again - thank you to Jacey and Nathalie and also a huge thanks to all those involved with putting this swim on. It's big and it takes a lot.
Sunday's event that I DID go to was the North Shore Challenge. But you will have to wait for that post. :)
There was another event that took place Sunday which was important that I DID NOT go to. It was a case of unfortunate scheduling.
The 2nd Annual Naomi Cermak Tri to Inspire @ Brock University
I never met Naomi (I don't think) but my sister knew her.
Tragically the Cermak family lost their beloved Naomi in 2013 to Melanoma. Do a Google search on her as there is no shortage of wonderful articles written about this young woman taken too soon. Brock University decided to create the Naomi Cermak Scholarship and also the Tri To Inspire Triathlon to fund it. From what I have read it is well named.
Naomi's sister Carly is a cherished friend of mine and the rest of my swim team (Cambridge Mavericks).
Under normal circumstances some of the Mavericks would have been at this event and indeed it broke our hearts when we found out about the scheduling conflict. I for one was eyeballs deep with the North Shore Challenge event. I had already roped in many of the gang. Sometimes the cards fall the wrong way.
Thankfully many did attend. Carly has such a magnetic personality that she makes friends instantly everywhere she goes and draws people to her. Even on a weekend that was a full schedule with many different events (smack dab middle of July) the Triathlon still had a good turnout. I believe there was a dip from last year but experience tells me that this is not uncommon in year 2 of a new event and it generally builds from there.
It is my hope that next year I am able to support this event. I will oompa loompa my way through and likely finish poorly.... but I will do it for a friend and her family. And I won't be doing it alone.
Friends - keep yours eyes open for this event in 2018. This is not an Ironman or anything like that. It is a small potatoes triathlon for a major purpose. Look for this triathlon, commit to yourself that you will attend, even if you finish 2nd last just ahead of me. If you need more motivation - read up on the warrior that Naomi Cermak was - https://goo.gl/yzE1zd . You can also donate to the scholarship here : https://goo.gl/76LAzb
Until I touch the wall.....
Michael Kenny
Masters Swimmer
Cambridge Mavericks
Marathon Open Water Swimmer
2015-16 Global Swim Series Champion
Contact Info :
F : https://www.facebook.com/swim.diesel
I : https://www.instagram.com/swim.diesel
T : https://twitter.com/SwimDiesel
E : m.j.kenny@swim-diesel.com
+ : google.com/+Swim-diesel
B : 53724F20